Difference between revisions of "Music Theory - Minor Keys"
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When two scales share the exact same set of notes, they are called relatives. For any major scale, there is a relative minor and vice versa. A Minor is the relative minor of C Major. | When two scales share the exact same set of notes, they are called relatives. For any major scale, there is a relative minor and vice versa. A Minor is the relative minor of C Major. | ||
| + | |||
| + | == A Minor Scale in Open Position == | ||
| + | |||
| + | e---------------------------------------------- | ||
| + | b---------------------------------------------- | ||
| + | g-------------------0--2--0-------------------- | ||
| + | d----------0--2--3-----------3--2--0----------- | ||
| + | a-0--2--3-----------------------------3--2--0-- | ||
| + | e---------------------------------------------- | ||
| + | a b c d e f g a g f e d c b a | ||
| + | |||
| + | e-------------------------------------------0--1--3-/5-- | ||
| + | b----------------------------------0--1--3-------------- | ||
| + | g----------------------------0--2----------------------- | ||
| + | d-------------------0--2--3----------------------------- | ||
| + | a----------0--2--3-------------------------------------- | ||
| + | e-0--1--3----------------------------------------------- | ||
| + | e f g a b c d e f g a b c d e f g a | ||
| + | |||
| + | Playing one octave is a little new, but looking at all the notes in open position is exactly the same as C Major. Focus on playing the single octave ascending and descending. | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Understanding Minor Tonality == | ||
| + | Now, remember what we said about the major scale - the major 7th as the 7th note wants to lead into the tonic. When playing the major scale, it is as if the tonic is a gravitational force, pulling melody and harmony towards it. So how can we play the same set of notes but not get pulled towards that note? | ||
| + | |||
| + | In many respects, we do get pulled to the note; but because we are starting on the 6th note of the major scale, ascending we hit the 7th immediately, before a real tonality is established. Descending we reach the tonic note of the major scale before that 7th. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Notice that the | ||
Revision as of 15:02, 23 April 2014
So far we've centered ourselves on the key of C Major and discussed all our chords and theory in terms of the major scale. Let's branch out to the minor scale.
The minor scale actually has 3 common variations: natural, harmonic, and melodic. We will only cover natural for now.
Contents
The Natural Minor Scale
The natural minor scale is basically exactly the same as the major scale, except the major 3rd, major 6th, and major 7th are all flattened to minor 3rd, minor 6th, and minor 7th. This changes the whole-half pattern as follows:
| m2 | M2 | m3 | M3 | P4 | d5 | P5 | m6 | M6 | m7 | M7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||||
| Minor | x | x | x | x | x | x |
Major: w-w-h-w-w-w-h Minor: w-h-w-w-h-w-w
Relative Minor/Major
If you observed astutely, the whole-half pattern is exactly the same; it just starts on a different note:
Major: w-w-h-w-w-w-h w-w-h-w-w-w-h Minor: w-h-w-w-h-w-w
So if you take any major key and play a scale starting on the sixth note, you have a natural minor scale. For the key of C Major, the sixth note is A. A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A is the A Minor scale.
When two scales share the exact same set of notes, they are called relatives. For any major scale, there is a relative minor and vice versa. A Minor is the relative minor of C Major.
A Minor Scale in Open Position
e---------------------------------------------- b---------------------------------------------- g-------------------0--2--0-------------------- d----------0--2--3-----------3--2--0----------- a-0--2--3-----------------------------3--2--0-- e---------------------------------------------- a b c d e f g a g f e d c b a
e-------------------------------------------0--1--3-/5-- b----------------------------------0--1--3-------------- g----------------------------0--2----------------------- d-------------------0--2--3----------------------------- a----------0--2--3-------------------------------------- e-0--1--3----------------------------------------------- e f g a b c d e f g a b c d e f g a
Playing one octave is a little new, but looking at all the notes in open position is exactly the same as C Major. Focus on playing the single octave ascending and descending.
Understanding Minor Tonality
Now, remember what we said about the major scale - the major 7th as the 7th note wants to lead into the tonic. When playing the major scale, it is as if the tonic is a gravitational force, pulling melody and harmony towards it. So how can we play the same set of notes but not get pulled towards that note?
In many respects, we do get pulled to the note; but because we are starting on the 6th note of the major scale, ascending we hit the 7th immediately, before a real tonality is established. Descending we reach the tonic note of the major scale before that 7th.
Notice that the